~ naming God's blessings in search of a fuller life

Honeybee Rescue

I remember a friend of mine, the kind of friend who knows about Such Things, once sharing an interesting fact about honeybees. Apparently, before leaving the hive, a honeybee will consume a certain amount of the honey in order to fuel itself for the journey out to collect pollen. Occasionally, the bee will run out of “fuel” before making it back to the hive and will eventually die.

In our little corner of Creation, we like to do our part to save the declining honeybee colonies. Whenever someone spies a bee languishing in the garden, he raises the alarm. The cry of “Honeybee rescue!” sends everyone rushing indoors for spoons and the honey pot.

We all gather around and watch as the honeybee sticks out his proboscis to slurp up the honey on the proffered spoon. His wings start to flutter, his abdomen pulses as the honey pours the life back into him. The Pickle dances around singing Pooh songs about bears and bees, with many a “Rum-tum-tiddly-tum”. This scene continues for ten minutes or so; the Pickle dancing, the honeybee gorging himself on nectar, the Sweet Pea patiently holding the spoon. And then, so suddenly that we are all surprised by it, he spreads his wings and flies away.